Every retailer’s nightmare is a shelf stocked with products that just won’t budge — a frustrating reality that many are currently facing. Even with research tools and ad tactics galore, new products still fail to resonate with consumers at an alarming rate. In fact, more than 90% of new products fail to significantly impact sales. (Womp.)
This unfortunate statistic can’t be blamed solely on poor research methods or an over-emphasis on awareness-driving tactics. In large part, it’s a consequence of consistent consumer shopping routines. People love their routines. It feels good to buy things you know your family likes, even when tempted by new options. The old adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” certainly applies here.
In the current landscape, it’s exceedingly difficult for new products to break through and grab consumer attention, especially to the degree needed to change behavior. The comfort of repeatable shopping makes people more reluctant to deviate from their habits, especially when, in their mind, the tried-and-true choices are working just fine.
This mindset presents a significant challenge for brands looking to introduce new and innovative products, and it creates an especially steep hill for retailers to climb.
The New Product Playbook is Flawed
The well-documented failure rate of new products suggests that right now there isn’t an effective method for designing, testing and launching a new product. There simply is no reliable playbook. No guide. No guarantees. Instead, the process usually goes something like this (spoilers):
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- Brands, eager to showcase their latest new product innovation, put on a bit of a show for the retailer.
- They fire up a PowerPoint and build a harrowing narrative, where the world’s biggest problem is conveniently a lack of caramel or cleaning power or cheesy popcorn.
- But thankfully, (insert new product here) is here to save us all. It fills the gaping void inside the consumer’s life, and you better believe they’ve got the focus group data to prove it.
- Finally, they press play on a reel of Getty Images cut to U2’s Beautiful Day (all apologies to U2) and they’re off and running.
Eager to support their partner’s enthusiasm, the retailer awards them highly coveted shelf space. Everyone celebrates and quickly starts planning the ribbon-cutting ceremony. But then, when the product finally arrives and it’s officially showtime, what happens?
It just sits there. Collecting dust.
It’s slow out of the gate. Sluggish, even. And here’s the kicker: It’s nobody’s fault. Up to this point, everyone involved believes it’s going to be a success. Why wouldn’t they?
Sadly, the flash of a new creative campaign, even a good one, rarely generates enough consumer demand that the product moves at the rate promised. The lack of movement sends the team into a panic. The cross-functional team’s positivity and celebratory vibes quickly turn into doubt. The high-fives turn into side-eyes and the game of CYA (cover your ass) begins: but the campaign scored well in testing, the purchase intent numbers are above benchmark and social media impressions are sky high — we even got a free Instagram post from our top influencer!
Unfortunately, none of it has resulted in enough sales velocity.
As integrated as the creative campaign may be, the primary media tactics usually live in a place far, far away from the target consumer’s shopping cart. As we know, a change in consumer behavior is a lot to ask. In other words, asking consumers to go all the way from awareness to trial probably requires an equal value exchange between the brand and the consumer to spark change.
This scenario outlined above is a bit overdramatic (for effect), but hopefully it’s also relatable. It illustrates a situation many of us have played a role in over the years. Retailers, marketers and agency folks: Think about that one new product innovation that, regardless of the blood, sweat and tears, somehow didn’t make it onto your resume. Yep, we all have one.
So, Where do we Go from Here?
For starters, it’s time for retailers to rethink their approach to evaluating which products deserve shelf space. This means demanding greater accountability from their partners. The shelves belong to you, and it’s time they worked harder.
Shelf space is a precious commodity. It must be treated that way. Raise the bar and insist on better sales tactics that live closer to the bottom of the funnel, bringing consumers closer to the point of purchase. This doesn’t mean awareness-driving tactics aren’t essential to building a healthy brand, but it does mean they can’t do all the heavy lifting alone.
How Can we Drive Greater Sales Velocity from the Start?
The challenges facing retailers and consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands are daunting, but one solution attempts to tackle this problem with a relatively simple approach. And no, it doesn’t involve AI algorithms or skirting the boundaries of consumer privacy laws.
What if we simply put the new product inside of a product our consumer already buys? Like, a Trojan horse…but for good.
Think about that for a second.
No disruption to consumers’ comfy shopping routines. No forcing them to buy a full box of something they’re not sure they (or their family) will like. No putting pressure on them to remember a new ad for a new thing.
Just like that, we can put a sample of the new product in the hands of millions of consumers — and they open it inside the comfort of their own homes.
There are countless ways to customize a program like this to address a brand’s business objectives: An insert ad highlighting brand benefits could accompany the sample, a QR code could introduce a consumer engagement experience, a digital coupon (or any incentive) could be unlocked. There’s also an opportunity to gather consumer feedback. You can even incentivize consumers to return to the same retailer where they made the original purchase and tell them exactly which aisle they can find the new product.
And remember the core product they were going to buy anyway? That just became a sales-producing media vehicle.
With something free inside, sales velocity increases 30%-50% and it becomes an effective delivery mechanism (a.k.a. rocket launcher) for the new product. Dare I say the line… that’s a win-win. (Forgive me.)
For more than 25 years, Insight Pack has worked inside the world’s largest manufacturing environments and inserted more than one billion 2D and 3D inserts into existing products. We do it at line speeds to ensure minimal disruption and at a staggering scale. Millions of new product samples can be distributed with ease, creating widespread awareness and trial practically overnight.
Whether it’s a box of cereal, fruit snacks, diapers or a big bag of pet food, this approach benefits both the core brand and the new product. And retailers can finally reframe their expectations, turning depressingly slow starts into rapid product movement.
Take control of your shelves. Demand greater velocity from the start and embrace something different.
Rick Thornhill is President at Insight Pack. He’s led integrated teams at some of the world’s best agencies and has partnered with some of the world’s biggest brands. He’s passionate about connecting people and products in new, innovative ways that provide a genuine value exchange between the brand and consumer.
